Elevating and folding trestle.



J. C. & J. N. PEPIN.

' ELEVATING AND FOLDING TRESTLE. 7

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15. 1913.

L wfim PatentedSept. 11,1912.

S-SHEETI.

I 2SHEET i 25.

J. C. & J. N. PEPIN.

ELEVATING AND FOLDING TRESTLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. Is. 1913.

1 ,gfi fi 1 Q Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

x llllillfll w ll! i llfl lll l l m J3 Z5 13 I 60% UNITED STATES PATENT FIQE.

JULE C. PEPIN AND JOSEPH N. PEPIN, OF EAST CHICAGO, INDIANA.

ELEVATING AND FOLDING TRESTLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. Ill, 1917.

Application filed December 15, 1913. Serial No. 806,683.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J ULE C. PEPIN and JOSEPH N. PEPIN, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of East Chicago, county of Lake, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevating and Folding Trestles, of which the following is a specification.

a Our invention relates to elevating and folding trestles and has for its object improvements in such devices.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side'elevation;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end elevation being partly in section on lines 33 of Figs. 1 and 4.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan of one end, being also partly in section on line H of Fig. 2; i a i Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section showing the elevating portion of the trestle in folded elevation; and

Fig. 6 is a plan of the entire trestle folded up.

The main or stationary bridge is composed of two pieces 10 to which are secured the legs 11 by means of screws 13 and nuts 14. The bridge pieces 10 rest on shoulders 12 out in the legs, and the ends of the legs above these shoulders are beveled as shown at 15 .in Fig. 6. This bevel gives the lateral flare to the legs as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

The longitudinal flare of the legs is held by blocks 16 secured to the pieces 10. The blocks 16 also serve as outer supports for the beveled ends 15 of the legs, when the legs are folded up and the nuts 14L are tightened on the screws 13, as shown in Fig. 6. The lower portions of the legs on opposite sides are releasably connected together by bars 17, each of which is pivoted to one leg and has a hook on its free end adapted to engage a pin on the opposite leg.

At each end of the trestle, and located between the bridge bars 10, is, a vertically adjustable standard 18 provided with a slot 19, and secured to the outer edges of these standards are racks 20. Running through thetwo bridge bars 10, and through the slots 19 in the'standards 18, are bolts 21 provided with clamping nuts 22. The standards 18 are located in shallow recesses in the bars 10, and the bottoms of these recesses are lined with thin metallic plates 23 serving as wearing faces in the vertical adjustment of the standards 18.

The upper ends of the standards 18 project above the stationary bridge bars 10, and are connected together by the vertically movable bridge bars 24, bolts 25 and nuts 26. These upper bridge bars 24 are provided with slots 27 for permitting the bolts 25 being slid along toward the middle of the upper bars.

Secured near the ends of the lower bridge bars 10 are brackets 28 which support a shaft 29. The ends of the shaft 29 are squared for the reception of a crank 30. Secured to the shaft 29 are gears 31 which ngage racks 20 and serve to raise and lower the upper bridge bars 24 and standards 18 when the shaft is turned by means of crank 30.

Supported in eyelets 32 is a rod 33 having secured thereon locking shields 3% which extend over the gears 31 and into the teeth of the rack 20. In this position the ends of the locking shields come between the teeth of the gears and those of the racks and pre vent racks and their connected parts from being lowered. By turning the rod 33, however, the shields may be thrown back away from the racks to permit said racks being lowered by turning the crank 30 and shaft. 29.

At the ends of the bars 10 are hooks 35 for securing the bars together. These hooks are safety devices for preventing the bars 10 spreading enough to let the gears get out of mesh with the racks in case the nuts 22 on the bolts 21 should be or become loose.

In normal operation the nuts 26 on bolts 25 are tightened so as to make a firm and rigid connection between the standards 18 and the upper bridge bars 24. When it is desired to raise or lower the bars 24: to increase or decrease the height of the trestle, the nuts, 22 are slackened so as to relieve the friction between the standards 18 and the wear plates 23, and the crank 30 is turned. lNhen the desired elevation is obtained, the locking shields 3% are thrown over thegears 31 to engage the racks 20 and prevent displacement under load upon the I trestle. The nuts 22 should then be tightened, but if the hooks 35 are in place no accident will occur by reason of failure to do this.

It is to be observed that the upper bridge bars which carry the load may be raised or lowered when loaded. The raised position is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

When it is desired to fold the trestle the crank 30 is turned to bring the upper bridge bars 24: to their lowest position, and the hooks 35 are released. Nuts 22 on bolts 21" are then slackened to permit the bars 10 being separated far enoughv to move the gears 31 out of racks 20 and free the standards from the grooves in which they are located so that they may be turned on the bolts 21 as pivots. The nuts 26 on bolts 25 are also slackened to relieve the clamping action between the upper bridge bars 24 and the standards 18. lVhen these things are done the bolts 25, fixed in the upper ends of the standards 18, are slid along the slots 27 in bars 25, and at the same time the standards 18 are moved upward and are turned upon the bolts 21. The result of this movement brings the parts into the position shown in Fig. 5. The nuts 14 are then slackened and the legs 11 are turned on the bolts 13 until said legs are parallel with the bars 10. All nuts are then tightened to secure the parts in a folded position shown in Fig. 6.

What we claim is 1. In a trestle, a leg-supported bridge furnishing guides, standards vertically movable in said guides, gears supported by said bridge and operating on racks secured to said standards for moving them, and releasable devices for holding said gears in engagement with said racks, said releasable devices furnishing pivots upon which the standards may be turned to fold them upon said bridge when the racks and gears are disengaged.

2. In a trestle, a bridge consisting of two pieces, standards vertically movable in a space between the two pieces, racks and gears for so moving them, and bolts for clamping said standards between said two pieces and for holding said gears and racks in engagement, said standards being foldable into the space between said pieces when said bolts are released. I

3. In a trestle, a bridge furnishing vertical guides, standards located in said guides, gearing for elevating said standards, and releasable devices for holding said gearing in operative condition, said standards being foldable upon said bridge when the releasable devices are released.

4. In a trestle, a lower bridge, an upper bridge, standards between the bridges, and combined pivotal and sliding connections between the standards and both bridges, said connections being so arranged that the standards may be folded within the lower Washington, D. G.

" Signed at Chicago,

bridge while retaining their pivotal relation to both bridges.

5. A leg-supported bridge formed of two pieces providing guides, standards vertically movable in said guides, gears supported by said bridge and engaging racks on said standards for moving them, bolts connecting the two bridge pieces together and eX- tending through slots in said standards, and nuts on said bolts, said bolts and nuts so arranged that upon releasingsaid nuts the standards and racks may be released from the guides and gears and said standards may be pivotally turned upon the. bolts.

6. In a trestle, a lower bridge, an upper bridge, standards extending between the bridges, and releasable pivoting bOlbS connecting the standards to the bridges, one of the members at each pivoting point being provided with a slot through'which the piv- 7 oting bolt passes and along which it may' slide in folding theystandards upon the bridges. 1

7. A. bridge providing guides, slides provided with racks and movable in said guides,

gears supported by said bridge and engaging saidracks, and releasable clamping bolts extending through the guides and slides, said parts being so arranged that upon the clamping bolts being released the slides may 3 be freed from their the bolts as pivots.

8. In a trestle, a bridge, legs therefor, said legs having their ends beveled at points of guides and turned upon contact with the." bridge and being provided with shoulders upon which the bridge rests, pivotingbolts connecting the legs to the bridge, and blocks secured to the bridge and serving to hold the legs, from spreading when the trestle is in use, said blocks also serving as supports forthe beveledends of the legs when said legs are folded against 1s)aid bridge and are clamped in place by said olts.

9. In a trestle, a bridge consisting of two pieces releasably secured together, standards passing through the space between said pieces and guided thereby,elevating devices mounted upon the bridge and serving to raise and lower said "standards, and a loadsupporting bridge mounted upon the upper em; by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. 

